The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today that it will distribute $461,882 in grants to several conservation organizations in the middle Rio Grande to help protect and enhance the rivers natural functions.
"Senators Domenici and Bingaman have been instrumental in acquiring congressionally appropriated funds for this grant program for several years," said Dr. Joy Nicholopoulos, Acting Assistant Regional Director for Ecological Services for the Services Southwest Region. "Their unwavering support for this program and conservation activities along the middle Rio Grande has been exceptional."
The grants are awarded as part of the Services Middle Rio Grande Bosque Initiative, which was created 11 years ago. The Middle Rio Grande Bosque Initiative is guided by the Bosque Improvement Group, commonly referred to as BIG. BIG is an ad-hoc alliance that provides a forum for those interested in bosque management throughout the Rio Grande basin. Participants include federal, state, tribal, city, county and local government agencies, private industry, not-for-profit organizations and others who have an interest in the forest and meadows bordering the river.
Nicholopoulos made the announcement at a meeting of the Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program (BEMP), one of the grant recipients and a key leader in monitoring and restoration activities.
The Middle Rio Grande Bosque Initiative funds four categories of projects: Research, Monitoring, Habitat Enhancement and Restoration and Outreach. The following projects were funded for this fiscal year.
RESEARCH:
- Bird Populations, Nesting Success, and Habitats Before and After Fuel Removal and Exotic Plant Removal of 12 Riparian Sites along the Middle Rio Grande, USDA Forest Service, $30,000
- River Bar Biodiversity Studies: Aerial Insects, Vegetation Structure and Bird Habitat - Part III, University of New Mexico/Natural Heritage New Mexico, $45,000
- Bosque Hydrology Group, FLO-2D Workgroup, US Fish and Wildlife Service, $12,000
- Distribution, Relative Abundance, and Tree/Shrub Selection of the Beaver (Castor canadensis) of the Middle Rio Grande: Management Implications of a Keystone Species, University of New Mexico, $22,000
MONITORING:
- Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program: Science Section, University of New Mexico, $25,000
- Bird and Vegetation Community Relationships: A 21-Year Comparison, Hawks Aloft, Inc., $33,000
- Save Our Bosque Task Force, Conceptual Restoration Plan, Implementation, Monitoring and Adaptive Management Program Development, Save Our Bosque Task Force, $40,000
- Monitoring the Effects of Wildfire on Avian, Arthropod, and Plant Communities along the Middle Rio Grande, USDA Forest Service, $20,000
- Monitoring Trends in the Breeding Populations of Raptors and Owls in the Middle Rio Grande Corridor (Continuation of original study - Year 4), Hawks Aloft, Inc., $5,000
- Monitoring of Rio Grande Silvery Minnow downstream of Ft. Craig, including the Elephant Butte Temporary Channel, Elephant Butte Delta and Elephant Butte Reservoir, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, $15,882
HABITAT ENHANCEMENT/RESTORATION:
- Cienega Creek Watershed Alliance Riparian Restoration, El Rancho de las Golondrinas: A Living History Museum, $30,000
- Vegetation and Wildlife Habitat Enhancement, Tree New Mexico, $10,000
- Rio Rancho Area Bosque Improvement Project, Friends of Rio Rancho Open Space, Inc., $25,000
- Effect of Exotic Fuelwood Removal on Groundwater Levels in the Middle Rio Grande Bosque, USDA Forest Service, $9,000
Feasibility Study and Development of Bosque Restoration and Maintenance Technician Training, Indio-Hispano Academy of Agricultural Arts and Sciences, $45,000Santo Domingo Bosque Improvement Project, Santo Domingo Tribe, $15,000
OUTREACH:
- Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program: Outreach Section, Bosque School, $35,000
- A Field Guide to the Flora and Fauna of the Middle Rio Grande Bosque, Drylands Institute, $40,000
- Update to the Bosque Biological Management Plan, Rio Grande Restoration, $5,000
For more information on the Middle Rio Grande Bosque Initiative, maps, links, fact sheets and past projects, visit http://mrgbi.fws.gov.
